Staggeringly, the fashion industry emits more greenhouse gases than air and sea transport. It is also the world’s 3rd largest consumer of irrigation water. It was therefore critical to come up with a new business model and consign fast fashion to the history books. Majdouline Sbaï has taken on the challenge.
A polluting industry
Majdouline Sbaï, a sociologist specialising in the environment and author of "Une mode éthique est-elle possible?” (Is ethical fashion possible?) is promoting circular fashion in response to Fast Fashion. Each year, in France, households throw out 700,000 tonnes of textile waste. “This is no longer a possibility. Today’s fashion is polluting and destroying the environment we live in. Furthermore, it’s endangering the economy and jobs.”
Is ethical fashion possible?
Inspired by a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which shows that 422-billion dollars could be generated worldwide if we were to recycle textiles, Majdouline decided to take action. The organiser of Fashion Green Days in Roubaix aimed at disseminating these ideas across the industry, she has just launched the Epicycle project in collaboration with Oxfam. The concept? A store where second-hand clothing is sold, but in a unique twist, it is ‘upcycled’ by creators who modify it and embellish it to make sure it is bang on trend. By refashioning fashion, Majdouline Sbaï intends to create a whole new circular economy.
